1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector box for a vehicle and particularly to an electric connector box for a vehicle suitable for facilitating the connection and layout of cables which are drawn out to the exterior and cables which are laid in the interior of the connector box, at the time of receiving plural circuit components within the connector box.
2. Description of Background Art
Due to subdivision of circuits the number of circuit components such as fuses used in vehicles such as automobiles and motorcycles is increasing in number. For containing such circuit components together there is used an electric connector box. For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2982104 is disclosed an electric connector box for gathering and connecting electric systems, wherein a cable terminal mounting surface is inclined to attain the reduction of space.
The following problem is encountered in the case where screwed cable terminals and plug-in terminals of, for example, blade fuses or relay fuses are mixed together within an electric connector box. In the case where plural cable terminals are being connected, it has so far been necessary, for the layout to prevent cables from intersecting circuit components and inner cables, that the cables are laid along an outer wall surface in the interior of the electric connector box and that a large number of screw portions are dispersed on the outer wall surface. This may result in that the space for laying cables becomes large and that the whole of the electric connector box becomes large-sized.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric connector box for a vehicle capable of enhancing the degree of freedom for cable layout in the interior of the connector box and capable of making it easy to draw out cables to the exterior.
For achieving the above-mentioned object, the first feature of the present invention resides in an electric connector box for a vehicle, containing a plurality of circuit components disposed in an adjacent manner and having a mounting base for the circuit components, the plural circuit components each having at both longitudinal ends thereof screw portions to which cables can be connected, wherein the screw portions of the plural circuit components are arranged in line in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the circuit components, the circuit components are mounted on the mounting base together with cables by utilizing the screw portions so that the cables are drawn out in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the circuit components. The mounting base has a stepped mounting surface so that a mounting surface of a circuit component, out of the plural circuit components, that is larger in the number of screw portions which a cable associated with the circuit component intersects, is positioned higher than a mounting surface of a circuit component, out of the plural circuit components, that is smaller in the number of screw portions which a cable associated with the circuit component intersects.
According to the first feature of the invention, since plural circuit components are supported on a stepped mounting surface, plural cables drawn out perpendicularly from the circuit components do not interfere with each other.
The second feature of the present invention resides in an electric connector box for a vehicle, containing a plurality of circuit components in an adjacent manner, wherein the plural circuit components comprise a circuit component having screw terminals to which cables can be connected and a circuit component having plug-in terminals. The terminals of the circuit components are arranged in line in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the circuit components, the cables being drawn out from the screw terminals in a direction orthogonal to the circuit components having the screw terminals, and between a mounting surface of the screw terminals and a mounting portion of the plug-in terminals there is provided a difference in height so that the mounting surface of the screw terminals is higher than the mounting portion of the plug-in terminals. Further, the third feature of the present invention resides in an electric connector box having the second feature and wherein the circuit component having the screw terminals is a block fuse and the circuit component having the plug-in terminals is a blade fuse.
According to the second and third features of the invention, since there is a difference in height between the screw terminals mounting surface and the plug-in terminals mounting portion, the cables drawn out from the screw terminals do not interfere with the plug-in terminals mounting portion.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.